With all the ‘noise’ about being careful about what you eat, how does food really affect your health? Experts advise that a good understanding of this could help you live a healthier, well-nourished life.

pH                  1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9      10      11      12    13      14

                      Acidic pH                       Neutral pH                                                Alkaline pH

It is important to note that food has a direct effect on the properties of your blood, with pH being one of the properties directly affected by the food you eat. pH is a measure of how acidic or how alkaline a substance is. It is expressed on a scale of 1-14, with a pH of 1 meaning highly acidic, a pH of 7 meaning neither acidic nor alkaline (neutral) and a pH of 14 meaning highly alkaline.

The pH of human blood is slightly alkaline (7.35 – 7.45). Any pH above or below this range would cause symptoms and diseases.

In a condition where the pH of the blood is a little acidic (slightly below 7.35), the body balances the blood pH by using alkaline minerals in your body such as calcium, potassium and magnesium which are obtained from the food eaten. If the diet does not contain enough alkaline minerals to compensate for the imbalance, there will be an accumulation of acid in the body which could result in symptoms and consequently life-threatening diseases. Some of these conditions include decrease in energy production, becoming more susceptible to tiredness and illness. Accumulation of acid in the body could even encourage the growth of tumour cells. On the other side, when the pH of the blood is above 7.45 (more alkaline), it could lead to hypersensitivity of the nerves in the body, convulsion and even death.

When food is consumed, it either has an acidic effect or alkalizing effect on the body after digestion.  This is as a result of how the body reacts to the foods. For instance, lemons are acidic in nature, but have an alkalizing effect on the body while milk is alkaline outside the body but has an acidic effect on the body upon digestion.

Research has shown that foods that form alkaline improve the health of humans whereas eating a lot of acid-forming foods could increase emotional stress and cause faster deterioration of the body. Nonetheless, it is necessary to eat a balance of alkaline-forming and acid-forming foods to keep blood pH within its normal range and consequently to maintain good health. It is advised that food eaten should contain 60-80% alkaline-forming foods and 20-40% acid-forming foods. This will help keep the blood pH in its normalcy. It's also very important to eat a variety of the various acid-forming and alkaline-forming foods to ensure your body gets all the needed vitamins and minerals as they vary in availability and quantity in the various foods.

ALKALINE-FORMING FOODS	ACID-FORMING FOODS
Lemons	Yoghurt
Limes	Wine
Onion	Whole wheat foods
Pineapple	Bread (all kinds)
Sea salt	Table salt
Sweet potato	Sugar (white and brown)
Tangerine	Soybean
Taro root	Soft drinks
Watermelon	Pasta
Raspberry	Lobster
Mineral water	Jams and jellies
Lentils	Ice cream
Vegetable juices	Hops
Apples	Hazelnuts
Apricots	Fruit juices with sugar
Asparagus	Fried foods
Fresh green beans	Cocoa
Carrots	Beef
Cashew	Beer
Chestnuts	Barley
Dandelion	Rye
Garlic	Prunes
Ginger	Pork
Ginseng tea	Popcorn
Grapefruit	Groundnuts
Kiwifruit	Pastries
Mango	Chicken
Molasses	Coffee
Parsley	Corn
Pepper	Egg white
Peas	Fructose
Soy sauce	Lard
Fresh sweet corn	Cow milk
Almonds	Goat milk
Apple cider vinegar	Nutmeg
Avocado	Ketchup
Cabbage	Cheese
Cauliflower	Maize
Cherry	Soy milk
Cod liver oil	Semolina
Egg yolk	Tapioca
Aubergine	Tomatoes
Green tea	White rice
Banana	Turkey
Mushrooms	Kidney beans
Pawpaw	Lima beans
Sesame seed	Mutton
Potato	Molluscs
Coconut oil	Fish
Cucumber	Maple syrup
Duck eggs	Offals
Lettuce	Vinegar
Oats	Alcohol
Okra	Safflower oil
Orange	Red beans
Raisin	Dry fruits
Strawberry	Dates
Spices	Coconut
Edible flowers	Guava

 

Above listed are some of the alkaline-forming and acid-forming foods. Remember to eat a variety of the foods in adequate amounts to be able to provide your body with all the necessary nutrients as you balance them to maintain a normal blood pH. Hippocrates, the father of medicine once said, “let your food be your medicine”. Choose your diet carefully  to ensure you eat well to live long.

 

By Bezalel Adainoo

Food Scientist

adainoo@gmail.com